Space Quote: Firefly is Going to the Far Side of the Moon

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“We look forward to Firefly providing this [Commercial Lunar Payload Services] delivery… This lunar landing should enable new scientific discoveries from the far side of the Moon during the lunar night. This particular group of payloads should not only generate new science but should be a pathfinder for future investigations exploiting this unique vantage point in our solar system.”

–Statement by Joel Kearns, Deputy Associate Administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, regarding the $112 million contract award to Firefly for a commercial lunar delivery targeted to launch in 2026 through NASA’s CLPS initiative that support the Agency’s Artemis program. NASA noted that the three payloads are (1) the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night), (2) Lunar Pathfinder, and (3) User Terminal. You can read more about the Firefly mission here. Firefly also issued its own press release.

Space Quote: NASA’s Proposed Budget for FY 2024

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“President Biden’s budget will help us explore new cosmic shores, continue to make strides in traveling to and working in space and on the Moon, increase the speed and safety of air travel with cutting-edge technologies, and help protect our planet and improve lives here on Earth.”

–Statement by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson regarding the release of the The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. Under this budget, NASA proposes to:

  • Build on the successful Artemis I mission and pave the way for a long-term presence at the Moon. 
  • Further new scientific discovery in our solar system and beyond. 
  • Support a future in low-Earth orbit.
  • Advance U.S. leadership in technology innovation in aviation and space. 
  • Engage diverse learners in NASA’s mission to create our nation’s next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers – the Artemis Generation. 

Space Quote: UAE Celebrates its Role in ISS Mission

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Image (Credit): The SpaceX Dragon with the Crew-6 team docking with the ISS. (NASA)

“I join the nation in congratulating Sultan al-Neyadi as he begins his pioneering mission aboard the International Space Station. His inspiring achievement is a source of great pride to the UAE and another milestone in the journey of our nation and the ambitions of our people.“

–Statement by United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan after the launch of the Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which included UAE astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi. All four members of the Crew-6 mission arrived safely at the ISS earlier today.

Space Quote: What are We Shooting at?

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Image (Credit): Weather balloon. (http://www.farmersalmanac.com)

“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were.  But nothing — nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from other — any other country. The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research.”

-Statement by President Biden at a February 16, 2023 press conference regarding the shooting down of three balloons after the destruction of a Chinese spy balloon. The Guardian later reported that an Illinois amateur ballooning club was contacted by the FBI about its $13 weather balloon that was last seen in Canada’s Yukon territory.

Space Quote: Google’s Expensive Mistake Regarding the JWST

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Image (Credit): Actual image of the exoplanet 2M1207b (red) around its star 2M1207A. (European Southern Observatory)

“What new discoveries from the James Webb space telescope (JWST) can I tell my nine-year old about?”

-The one question put to Google’s Bard AI program, which was designed to rival Microsoft’s ChatGPT. In response, Bard stated the JWST took the very first pictures of an exoplanet, which was incorrect. The first image of an exoplanet can be seen above, taken by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope back in 2004. The exoplanet, called 2M1207 b, is a gas giant about five times the mass of Jupiter. Following the erroneous feedback, the stock of Google’s parent Alphabet dropped about $100 billion in value. Below is an image from another exoplanet spotted by the JWST last year, called HIP 65426 b, which is about six to eight times the mass of Jupiter.

Image (Credit): First direct image of an exoplanet by the JWST. The exoplanet, called HIP 65426 b, is about 6 to 8 times the mass of Jupiter and only 15 to 20 million years old. The Earth is about 4.5-billion-year-old Earth. (NASA/ESA/CSA, A Carter (UCSC), the ERS 1386 team, and A. Pagan (STScI))